Read Novel Full Book 8 Chapter 36 - The Immortal Emperors Arrive
Book 8 Chapter 36 - The Immortal Emperors Arrive
When Xingtian awakened, the very earth of the Asura Realm was shattered; naturally, the spatial gateway connecting it to the Underworld was destroyed as well. Jiang Lan and Bai Qiuran were forced to forge their own spatial tunnel to find their way back.
Fortunately, the coordinates for the Underworld were not difficult to locate; both of them remembered its position clearly.
Upon entering the Underworld, the pair returned to the checkpoint that linked it to the Asura Realm. This area had once been heavily guarded, but Lie Zun—the official currently in charge of the Underworld—had likely withdrawn the personnel after their return from the Asura Realm. When they arrived, they saw only a handful of underworld officers attending to the aftermath.
Seeing how diligently the officers were working, Bai Qiuran and Jiang Lan chose not to disturb them and quietly slipped past.
Passing through the series of checkpoints established along the Asura Realm gateway, the two arrived at the fork in the road leading to the Six Paths of Reincarnation. There, at the junction leading to the Underworld proper, they spotted a familiar figure.
Xue Ling stood motionless at the crossroads, gazing toward the Asura Realm gateway; he was clearly waiting for someone.
Bai Qiuran touched the mask on his face—he was still disguised as the Ghost Emperor—and walked over with Jiang Lan.
Seeing them approach, Xue Ling walked toward them. He stopped before the pair, bowed respectfully to each of them in turn, and then looked at Bai Qiuran to ask:
“I never imagined that, having failed to capture you, you would come to the Underworld of your own accord… So, should I address you as the sinner Bai Qiuran? Or as His Majesty, the Ghost Emperor?”
“Absurd.”
Bai Qiuran stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression and heartbeat perfectly steady.
“You wish to capture Bai Qiuran—what does that have to do with me, the Ghost Emperor?”
“I understand.”
Xue Ling nodded and bowed to Bai Qiuran:
“Thank you.”
“What is Underworld Officer Xue thanking me for?”
Bai Qiuran asked, feigning ignorance.
“Fair enough… Please follow me, Your Majesty, the Ghost Emperor.”
He turned and walked ahead, evidently intending to guide the way for Bai Qiuran and Jiang Lan. Bai Qiuran and Jiang Lan followed along. As Xue Ling led them into the city of Fengdu, he asked:
“This Immortal Emperor, please forgive me for not having heard your name before… May I ask how you are addressed?”
“Just call me Jiang Lan.”
Jiang Lan shook her head and smiled:
“I have never been to the Immortal Realm; I am not a registered immortal of that realm.”
“I wouldn’t dare to call you that.”
Xue Ling asked again:
“May I ask what your relationship is with His Majesty the Ghost Emperor?”
“She is my wife.”
Bai Qiuran said calmly.
Xue Ling couldn’t help but take a few extra looks at him.
“What is it?”
“Just a bit surprised… that’s all.”
Xue Ling deflected the question; such a reaction was highly unusual for someone with such a deadpan expression.
“Since you are the wife of His Majesty the Ghost Emperor, you are the Empress of the Ghost Realm. It is only fitting that I address you respectfully as ‘Your Highness’.”
Hearing this, Jiang Lan was slightly pleased and did not object, saying:
“You may address me however you like, Underworld Officer Xue.”
Xue Ling led the two of them all the way to the Manor of the Three Venerables in the center of Fengdu City.
“This is the Manor of the Three Venerables, the place where the three Venerables of the Ghost Realm oversee its affairs.”
Upon entering the manor, Xue Ling introduced it to them:
“This is also the administrative hub that keeps the Ghost Realm running, managing everything within it… Actually, the original blueprints for Fengdu City included a Palace of the Ghost Emperor, but since you were hundreds of thousands of years late, we have to use the Manor of the Three Venerables as a temporary substitute.”
“So, the Palace of the Ghost Emperor didn’t exist?”
Jiang Lan asked.
“Your Highness,”
Xue Ling replied:
“It is already under construction.”
They arrived at the manor’s garden. Bai Qiuran stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the wondrous flowers blooming there and emitting a faint, glowing light. Suddenly, he asked:
“Xue Ling, what is your opinion of Venerable Lie?”
Xue Ling pondered for a moment before replying:
“Venerable Lie is one of the pillars of the Ghost Realm.”
“Oh?”
Bai Qiuran turned to look at him. “If I recall correctly, Venerable Lie was an Immortal Venerable dispatched by the Central Immortal Realm, wasn’t he? Does that mean the remarks Venerable Ran made earlier in the Asura Realm were incorrect?”
“Not exactly.”
Xue Ling shook his head.
Bai Qiuran took a deep breath and stared straight at him; Xue Ling’s habit of answering only exactly what was asked was truly exhausting to listen to.
Perhaps mindful that Bai Qiuran was now his direct superior—the supreme leader—Xue Ling fell silent for a moment before adding:
“The Central Immortal Realm is under the direct command of Immortal Emperor Bai Li, and the Central Immortal Emperor is Immortal Emperor Bai Li’s personal disciple.”
“I see.”
Bai Qiuran nodded.
“So, Venerable Lie didn’t come down to control the cycle of reincarnation, but rather to oversee the other Immortal Venerables and find a way to wrest control of life, death, and reincarnation back from the other Immortal Emperors and return it to the Ghost Realm—is that right?”
“Theoretically, yes.”
Xue Ling replied:
“But the human heart is unfathomable. Given the precedents set by Venerable Li and Venerable Ran, I honestly don’t know what Venerable Lie is truly thinking.”
He paused, looked at the contemplative Bai Qiuran, and offered some counsel:
“I understand what you are thinking, Ghost Emperor. However, the Ghost Realm is vast. While the source of the rot lies in the Immortal Realm, many residents of the Ghost Realm have been deeply influenced by it and have naturally come to side with them. Restoring order to the Ghost Realm isn’t as simple as merely uprooting the corrupt elements. What you need is the power to deter—to show everyone that the laws of the Ghost Realm are not merely for show.”
Bai Qiuran fell into thought.
“Let’s go inside.”
After a moment, he said to Xue Ling:
“We shouldn’t keep Venerable Lie and the others waiting.”
Venerable Lie and other high-ranking officials of the Ghost Realm were waiting in the main hall of the Three Venerables’ Manor. As Bai Qiuran pushed open the doors and entered, he saw the original Three Venerables of the Ghost Realm—Venerable Lie and a tall, unfamiliar man with a dark complexion—standing on either side, bowing respectfully to him and Jiang Lan. “Greetings, Ghost Emperor; greetings, Empress.”
“Rise.”
Bai Qiuran gestured for them to stand, then walked inside with Jiang Lan and Xue Ling. Xue Ling took his place just below the dark-faced man, while Bai Qiuran and Jiang Lan were guided by the beautiful woman in the red dress to the two seats in the center of the main hall.
“Everyone, please take your seats.”
Once seated, Bai Qiuran raised his hand to give the instruction, then turned to the Venerable Yin beside him and said:
“I have been away for a long time; I must trouble you, Venerable Yin, to introduce everyone present to me.”
“As you wish.”
Venerable Yin rose and bowed, then pointed first to the Lie Venerable:
“This is someone I believe Your Majesty the Ghost Emperor already knows: Venerable Lie. He hails from the Central Immortal Realm and serves as an Immortal Venerable under the Immortal Emperor Kaiyuan.”
“Your subject, Lie Qianqi, pays his respects to the Ghost Emperor.”
The Lie Venerable bowed respectfully to Bai Qiuran.
“A pleasure to meet you.”
Bai Qiuran returned the salute.
Regardless of what this Immortal Venerable from the Central Immortal Realm might be plotting internally, he had certainly shown no lack of courtesy on the surface.
“And this one here.”
Venerable Yin pointed to the tall, dark-faced middle-aged man.
“This is King Yama. He is currently the only Immortal Venerable among the Yama Kings and oversees the Ten Courts of Yama.”
“Yama pays his respects to the Ghost Emperor.”
King Yama saluted Bai Qiuran.
“A pleasure. Your great name is known even in the mortal realm.”
Bai Qiuran returned the salute.
“Next is this one.”
The Venerable Yin paused to consider, then introduced Xue Ling to Bai Qiuran:
“A rising star of the Ghost Realm and its youngest Immortal Venerable. He is also one of the few Ghost Immortals native to this realm—Regional Commander Xue Ling. He currently oversees the Soul Takers of a mortal realm.”
“Greetings, Ghost Emperor.”
Xue Ling bowed respectfully to Bai Qiuran. “I have long heard of the renown of Regional Commander Xue Ling.”
Seeing Xue Ling’s demeanor, Bai Qiuran felt a secret sense of satisfaction, yet he still returned the salute.
“Finally, there are my two unworthy colleagues; like me, they are ghosts who have survived from that era to the present.”
Venerable Yin pointed first to the middle-aged man, then to the beautiful woman in the red dress.
“This is Venerable Bone, and this is Venerable Blood. The three of us are nothing more than retired old folks now.”
At these words, Venerable Blood looked slightly displeased, yet she still joined Venerable Bone in offering a formal salute.
“Greetings, Ghost Emperor.”
It was evident that both of them knew Bai Qiuran’s true identity; thus, their salutes—much like the Venerable Yin’s—were exceptionally sincere.
“A pleasure to meet you.”
Bai Qiuran returned the salute to each of them in turn.
“And next…”
Just as Venerable Yin was about to continue, several terrifying waves of divine sense suddenly descended from the sky above the Three Venerables’ Manor. They swept across the entire city of Fengdu, cutting his words short.
One of these divine sense signatures fluctuated, broadcasting a message to every being within the city of Fengdu:
“Hearing that the Ghost Emperor has appeared and ascended the throne, the Five Emperors of the Immortal Realm have come to offer their congratulations.”